I‘ve been a bit obsessed recently with some of the deep lore and worldbuilding in the Twisted Wonderland universe, you see, and after extensively studying some of the character animations from in-game I noticed there were a few set variations on how spellcasting is usually conducted.
So with that said, here is my personal compendium of thoughts and headcanons regarding spellcasting styles and the particular strengths and weaknesses that come with their usages!
Form 1: Physical Casting (“Striker”)
A subcategory of the Physical Casting path, this form can also be referred to as “Strikers” (or in a more comedic sense “Muscle Wizards”).
Strikers put their whole body into their magic casting; they’re known for throwing out magic by literally throwing it out through punches, kicks, swipes, elbows, knee-strikes, and other such physical gestures. With Strikers, the kinetic energy of one’s own strikes, and by extension one’s own personal strength, are what increases their spellcasting strength and overall ability.
Those of this casting style often mimic fighting styles from previous experience and reference many hand-to-hand combat fighting styles such as boxing, capoeira, krav maga, street fighting, etc.
This spellcasting form is notable for being blunt, brutal, and devastating at short range, with a wide range of attack and high mobility.
On the other hand, this attack style also tends to also be weaker and increasingly inaccurate at longer ranges.
Known Users:
Deuce (Rough / Untrained)
Leona (Street Fighting)
Ruggie (Capoeira)
Jack (Boxing)
Form 2: Physical Casting (”Dancer”)
Another subcategory of the Physical Caster class, “Dancers” are similar to Strikers in that they favor their body’s strength and dexterity to cast spells. However, instead of solely relying on sheer body strength, Dancers rely more on fluid movements and their body’s natural kinetics to throw out spells.
This spellcasting form has similar advantages and disadvantages to the Striker form: boasting a high range of mobility and devastating attack strength and accuracy at a short range and lower attack strength and accuracy at a long range.
In contrast, Dancer-type spellcasters have a slightly larger attack range than Strikers, and are able to hit with slightly more accuracy at mid-range.
Known Users:
Floyd (Swing)
Epel (Ballet)
Form 3: Artificial Weaponry
This spellcasting form focuses on using an item like a wand like an extension of their body, wielding it like a weapon to better focus spellcasting and attacks into more pinpoint strikes.
Generally speaking, this is the most common spellcasting path for wizards to train in; if the wizard relies more on their wand than they do their personal physicality, they tend to be considered a member of this path. There’s a great deal of variety in stance within this form as, simply, there’s a lot of weapons that exist in the world, and even beyond standard weaponry any other occupation or trade’s movements can influence a user’s movements in this category.
This spellcasting path is notable for having higher accuracy at mid-long range distances, and often times has faster casting rates and higher overall attack speeds at long distances. On the other hand, those that utilize this magic form can have difficulty controlling their attacks at short range, thus resulting in lower accuracy.
Also to note is often spells cast through this attack form do not vary in strength depending on range, and are more likely to deal the same level of damage across the board according to the user’s training, focus, and mana pool.
Known Users:
Ace (Rough / Untrained)
Trey (Paintbrush)
Cater (Paintbrush)
Azul (Street Magician)
Jade (Maestro Baton)
Kalim (Scimitar / Staff)
Jamil (Scimitar / Dagger)
Rook (Bow)
Silver (Sword / Baton)
Sebek (Sword / Baton)
Form 4: Auratic Casting
Auratic Casting, simply put, is a casting style that uses the caster’s passive aura (or their surrounding energy) to manifest their spells into existence. Those that wield wands with this casting style do so less to throw forth their spells and more to “command” them forth from their surrounding aura.
Unlike the previous styles of casting, Auratic Casting requires little to no physical exertion in order to cast spells, but instead the spellcaster must have an extremely large mana pool as well as incredible mana control in order to successfully use this casting style effectively.
This spellcasting form is notable for having extremely high damage output and accuracy regardless of range, though the speed of which spells are cast and discharged varies widely depending on the user. This spellcasting style can also be used in a 360 degree radius around the user, depending on the awareness of their surroundings.
On the other hand, those that use this spellcasting form often suffer from “emotional discharge”, meaning that the strength and accuracy of their spells can vary with their emotional state and concentration, resulting in fluctuations of accuracy and power, as well as accidental discharge of spells even if they do not intend to cast at that time. This may also result in the user accidentally harming themself and others from uncontrolled strikes if they are severely emotionally compromised.
Known Users:
Grim
Riddle
Vil
Idia
Lilia
Malleus
Addendum:
Primary and Secondary Casting Styles (4/20/21)
Most characters seem to have a bare minimum of two casting styles that are used depending on the location of the spell’s origin.
Ex: Spells that are cast from the user tend to involve more wide body movements, leaning towards physical casting styles. In comparison, when the spell’s origin is away from the viewer (like when it erupts from the floor or the ceiling as part of an attack) movements are more brief, simple, and directional, which is reminiscent of auratic casting.
With this, the main (primary) casting style of the cast is usually either a version of physical casting or artificial weaponry and their secondary casting style is usually auratic. Those that rely primarily on auratic casting tend to stay with this style regardless of the circumstances.
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TLDR: There’s three main casting styles: Physical Casting (Includes Striker and Dancer subclasses), Artificial Weaponry, Auratic Casting.
Physical Casting: Uses the body’s physical strength/motions to cast spells.
Great for close range combat
Very poor for long-range combat
Power amplifies with caster’s strength and dexterity + closer proximity to caster
Artificial Weaponry: Wields the wand or other instrument like a weapon to cast spells.
Poor for close-range combat
Great for mid-long range combat
Power amplifies with attuned magic control; does not increase or decrease in damage with range
Auratic Casting: Uses the surrounding aura of the wizard/mage to cast spells.
Powerful at all ranges
Emotional influences affect accuracy and strength
Uncontrolled discharge can occur if emotionally compromised
Power amplifies with increased mana pool
Most of the cast has a primary and secondary casting style, with the first being either Physical casting or Artificial Weaponry and the secondary being Auratic. Those that have Auratic as their primary use it for everything.
